Next Wednesday, in a modest space off Columbus Avenue, Joseph and Cynthia Germanotta plan to open Joanne Trattoria, an Italian restaurant with a well-stocked front bar, a cozy back patio and seating for about 70 people. The venture has been both bolstered and complicated by a simple fact: the Germanottas’ daughter Stefani, better known as Lady Gaga, is perhaps the most famous woman in the world.
For now, the owners seem suspended between embracing the attention and distancing themselves from it. Lady Gaga’s few mentions of the restaurant and her appearance at a party there on New Year’s Eve have generated buzz that top chefs could only hope to attract. Art Smith, the chef and a partner at Joanne, met her at a taping of Oprah Winfrey’s show. (Mr. Smith was Ms. Winfrey’s personal chef for many years.)
“One tweet,” Ms. Germanotta said, her blue eyes widening, “and it’s over.”
In an ABC News interview with Katie Couric in November, Lady Gaga said, “My dad and I opened up a restaurant together.” She recalled watching him raise the awning on 68th Street, blocks from where she was raised, and naming the place for his sister, who died of lupus at age 19. Lady Gaga teared up. “That’s wealth,” she said, placing her hand over her heart. “That’s the dream.”
In fact, Lady Gaga is not an owner, and Mr. Germanotta said the family could have afforded to open even without his daughter’s success.
The fare will be Southern Italian, Ms. Germanotta said, in the sense that Mr. Smith is Southern and the Germanottas are Italian. Papa G’s chicken, named for Mr. Germanotta, will most likely be offered. So will an osso buco inspired by his sister, and Cynthia’s salad, after Ms. Germanotta. Mr. Smith has been given free rein to offer a “Southern Sunday” menu each week. Entrees will cost about $25 to $30, Mr. Germanotta said.
Renderings of the Tuscan countryside adorn the walls. Near the fireplace at the entrance, family photos hang above a front booth. But the Germanottas said they were unsure whether to include a picture of their famous daughter. Perhaps, Ms. Germanotta mused, they could find an older shot in which the singer is recognizable only up close.
Mr. Germanotta agreed. “If they’re expecting to come in here and see Grammys and pictures and stuff like that, it’s not going to happen,” he said.
For now, the owners seem suspended between embracing the attention and distancing themselves from it. Lady Gaga’s few mentions of the restaurant and her appearance at a party there on New Year’s Eve have generated buzz that top chefs could only hope to attract. Art Smith, the chef and a partner at Joanne, met her at a taping of Oprah Winfrey’s show. (Mr. Smith was Ms. Winfrey’s personal chef for many years.)
“One tweet,” Ms. Germanotta said, her blue eyes widening, “and it’s over.”
In an ABC News interview with Katie Couric in November, Lady Gaga said, “My dad and I opened up a restaurant together.” She recalled watching him raise the awning on 68th Street, blocks from where she was raised, and naming the place for his sister, who died of lupus at age 19. Lady Gaga teared up. “That’s wealth,” she said, placing her hand over her heart. “That’s the dream.”
In fact, Lady Gaga is not an owner, and Mr. Germanotta said the family could have afforded to open even without his daughter’s success.
The fare will be Southern Italian, Ms. Germanotta said, in the sense that Mr. Smith is Southern and the Germanottas are Italian. Papa G’s chicken, named for Mr. Germanotta, will most likely be offered. So will an osso buco inspired by his sister, and Cynthia’s salad, after Ms. Germanotta. Mr. Smith has been given free rein to offer a “Southern Sunday” menu each week. Entrees will cost about $25 to $30, Mr. Germanotta said.
Renderings of the Tuscan countryside adorn the walls. Near the fireplace at the entrance, family photos hang above a front booth. But the Germanottas said they were unsure whether to include a picture of their famous daughter. Perhaps, Ms. Germanotta mused, they could find an older shot in which the singer is recognizable only up close.
Mr. Germanotta agreed. “If they’re expecting to come in here and see Grammys and pictures and stuff like that, it’s not going to happen,” he said.
here Joanne Trattoria
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